Weather
According to NOAA, a tornado swept through the small town of Denair, CA yesterday around 2 pm. The tornado was reported to be an EF0 tornado, which is the weakest category on the Enhanced Fujita scale that runs from EF0 to EF5. These tornados usually consist of 65-85mph winds that end up causing minor damage.
Luckily, there were no injuries reported and all of the 1,700 people that reside in Denair are accounted for. The small city experienced damage to roofs of homes and a church, outbuildings and fences being knocked down, downed power lines, and trees. The twister unleashed its wrath on nearly a mile of Zeering Road in Denair.
“It happened real quick, I saw a black line, which was lots of black leaves in the funnel cloud,” stated Eduardo Trevizo, a resident of Denair, CA.
Emergency responders have established a command center on Zeering and Gratton roads. The California Highway Patrol, Denair Fire Department, and the Keyes Fire Department are on scene to assist with the damage. The firefighters at the scene were dismembering fallen trees and debris, along with Turlock Irrigation District and Pacific Gas and Electric employees working to repair utilities. Citizens of Denair have been working together to clear debris and repair damage as fast as possible.
When the tornado struck, “my husband and I thought we were going, that this was the end of the world for us,” state Sabina Woodard, a resident on Denair, CA.
On average, the United States experiences about 1,000 tornadoes each year, with almost all of them occurring east of the Rocky Mountains. California’s Central Valley, which is the vast stretch of low land, flat lad that occupies the majority of central CA, is home to almost all of California’s 403 tornadoes from 1950-2013. The Central Valley is susceptible to tornadoes because of the convection-like conditions that can be experienced there when these storms collide with atmospheric winds that can rotate and produce tornadoes.
Denair, California is located just north of Fresno and that reveals that it is located in the Central Valley of California where the majority of Tornadoes occur.
